Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-03-30

ioped back. Three shots were fred by
cIc o"cefs In quick succession
which only increased the speed with
wnicn tne men were now taking the back
TRACK. Murray had dismounted to fire on
account OF his animal Ia poor one) being
restlve under lire, and before he could re-
mount the men were out Of sight. The off.
GERS followed them to where the road forked,
not knowing which one of the three
forks the men had taken took one at haxard
which turned out to be the wrong one
This was about 2 O'Clock in the morning
M they at once returned to Dillon. Sc
curing fresh horses they started again the
next morning. The tracks we're fresh and
followed until dark on Sunday night
when they were lost in the timber IN
the Frying Pan Basin which wal soon az
terwards surrounded by armed men. In the
morning diligent search in the timber re-
vealed the factthat the pursued men had
escaped on foot and had abandoned the
horses which were found to be two that
had been stolen from q butcher in Butte.
H BUTTE OFFICERS START IN.
On the Monday morning following the
tragedy Sheriff Sullivan and Deputy George
Conteway, whose search had hitherto been
fruitless, Joined the searchers at Dillon
who found the two horses stolen from this
city, supposedly by the men who attempt
ed to hold up the Glendale stage. The
sheriff and Conteway then left the party
and travelled towards Birch creek and at
a point about o u or five miles northeast
struck the tracks of two men and came
across a sheep cabin in which they ascer-
tanned the men had slept q portion of Sum
day night. From the occupants of the
cabin the pursuers obtained an accurate
description of their quarry. The fugitives
had been seen by parties at Point of Rocks
and from there their tracks were followed
down the Beaverhead river to Twin
Bridges where they branched off in the di-
rection Of this city. The pursued were
next heard OF at the Hallway House in
Pipestone Pass and the trail was very.
fresh. On Thursday morning at daylight
THE MEN WERE ~ovERTAKEN
in the lane near the Bell Shelter. The
Sheriff covered them with his gun and COM
,nanded them to throw up their hands.
less, and were Immediately handcuffed and
incarcerated in the County Jail. Unfor-
tunately, Mr.. Marchant, the passenger who
was sitting b. side the driver when he was
shot, and who had had q good view of the
assassin, had left for San Francisco aud
was not present to identity Sheriff Sulli-
vans capture. The men were fully identi-
fed. however, as the parties who had
ridden the horses that had been stolen
from q firm of butchers in Butte. and
which had been picketed close by Howard's
ranch on the day of the tragedy. Two of
the men arrested named Jensen and Erick-
son were released in a few days, they prov
ing an abb. It was determined to take
the third man, whose name was Thomas
Harding, back to Dillon and hold him for
horsestealing in default of proof of the
greater crime by Marchant, who was the
only man who could thoroughly identify
the murderer of Ferguson and who was
sent for.
HARDING's TRIAL.
At the fall term of the Second Judicial
District Court at Dillon, Thomas Harding
was indicted for the murder of George Fer
guson and at the trial was fully identified
by T. s. Marchant as the murderer. He
was sentenced by Judge Galbraith to be
hanged on Friday, December 20, 1886.
His attorneys, Messrs. Campbell & Duffy,
applied to the Supreme Court of the Terri
meet until January, 80 Gov. Hauser was
applied to for q respite of thirty days
which he granted. The Supreme Court,
however. did not act upon the matter be-
fore the conclusion of this respite, and an
other for thirty days was given by the
Governor. The court denied the ap.
peal to it.. The case was then carried
to the Supreme Court of the United
States on habeas corpus proceedings. To
enable this case to be considered, the gov
ernor granted an additional thirty-day
respite. The supreme court denied the
application and all that was left for the
doomed mans attorneys % do was to ap-
peal to the executive clemency. which Mr..
Duffy did going to Helena in the beginning
of the week. But it vas of 40 avail. Gov
Leslie would grant no respite to
bring the case in different shape before the
court OF last resort nor would he commute
the sentence to imprisonment for life. The
last thread of hope being broken, Harding
was left face to face with the mandate OF
lava life for a life;;' whose
sheddeth mans blood by man shall his
blood be she'd" He was twenty-five years
old, OF a square build, medium height. |
sandy hair and wore a very long heavy
sandy mustache.